


32 Paws & 18 Lives

by Sandyclaws68



Category: Naruto
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Dog Groomer Kakashi, First Meeting, Gen, Graphic Artist Iruka, KakaIru Fest, M/M, Nine weeks of summer, Pets, Pre-Relationship, Week 2, pet shop
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-11
Updated: 2020-07-11
Packaged: 2021-03-05 02:21:34
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,020
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25206889
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sandyclaws68/pseuds/Sandyclaws68
Summary: Iruka's and Kakashi's friends set up the perfect business partnership.  And maybe a little more. . .
Relationships: Hatake Kakashi/Umino Iruka
Comments: 7
Kudos: 79
Collections: Nine Weeks of Summer 2020





	32 Paws & 18 Lives

“Seriously, Kakashi? We’re going to have _this_ conversation again?”

Kakashi pulled his attention away from his beer to glare at his friend Asuma. He opened his mouth to ask what, exactly, the other man meant, but was beaten to the punch by Gai, who was seated on the other side of the table.

“I have to agree with our bearded friend, Kakashi. You’ve been complaining about this for weeks.” Gai took a long drink from his own beer before continuing. “You really need to stop the whining and make a decision. Sitting on your backside isn’t going to get you what you want.”

“I have to agree with Gai, except I would have said sitting on your ass.”

Kakashi reached across the table, aiming for Asuma’s face but the other man avoided the attempted smack easily. He sighed in resignation, knowing that his best friends were right. It was time to get off his ass and make the decision he had been putting off for nearly a month. “Okay, okay, fine. You’re both right about the situation and what the solution is. But how do you suggest I go about fixing things?”

Asuma grinned. “I’ve got you covered, man. I know a guy.”

****~**~**~**~**~****

“Can we _please_ not have this conversation again?” Iruka begged, wondering if drowning himself in their pitcher of margaritas was a viable option.

Genma rolled his eyes. “Sorry ‘Ru, but you know that’s not going to happen. You’ve been bewailing your situation -”

“And drowning your sorrows in booze,” Raidou put in.

“ - for months now,” Genma concluded with a nod to their other friend. “It’s long past time you pulled on your big boy panties and did something about it.”

“But what exactly?” Iruka asked, voice containing just a hint of a whine. “I’m sitting on a small business loan that would give me a start but I don’t want to just jump in with no plan or prospects.”

Genma grinned. “So steal clients from those assholes that fired you last mon - .” His words broke off with a grunt that usually accompanied Kurenai elbowing him in the ribs.

“Get a partner, Iruka,” she commented, glaring at Genma before refilling her glass. “Offer the money from your loan to invest in that business and provide your expertise in advertising and graphic design as a support.”

“A partner?” Iruka snorted, rolling his eyes. “How do you suggest I find one? Crap somebody out?”

Kurenai laughed and raised her glass in a toast. “Don’t worry about that; I know a guy.”

****~**~**~**~**~****

Iruka glanced down at his phone, quadruple-checking that he was in the right place. His GPS told him he had arrived, and the address matched the one Kurenai had texted him, but what he saw before him did not match any of his expectations. It was a single storefront, but judging by the paint colors it occupied all three stories of the renovated downtown building. The welcome mat proudly asked that you _**Wipe Your Paws**_! before entering, and the stylized lettering on the sign also suggested animal prints.

But it was the name of the shop that had Iruka shaking his head. 32 Paws seemed more like a riddle than a business name, but he was at a point in his life where he needed to jump right in to solve it. His only other choice was to walk away and watch his dream go down the drain. So he pushed the door open, unsurprised at the barking dog chime that announced his arrival.

He heard a muffled voice from somewhere in the back but wasn’t able to make out the words. He assumed it was some variant of “Be right there!” so he relaxed and looked around the shop. It was narrow but well-appointed and well kept. To his left was a wall rack that featured collars, harnesses, and leashes in a variety of colors and below that a row of large wicker baskets stuffed with dog toys for sale. The counter to his right was empty except for a wire mesh cup containing a number of pens, and Iruka chuckled when he saw that the pen caps all had tiny dog heads on them.

“Sorry about that!” a voice sounded, much clearer than before. “I had a client on the phone and she’s a little chatty; I couldn’t get away without being rude. So what can I help you with, Mister. . .”

“Umino,” Iruka replied, looking up from the novelty pens and meeting the eyes of the man behind the counter. He was a little bit taller than Iruka with dark eyes and silver hair that looked like he had forgotten to comb it for at least three days. He had a surgical mask covering the lower half of his face but the way his eyes lifted at the corners suggested he was smiling.

But despite all of that - or because of it - he was the most attractive man Iruka had seen in quite some time.

“You’re not my next appointment,” the other man stated, looking Iruka up and down in a way that made his face heat and his nerves jangle.

“I might be,” was Iruka’s laughing response as he rubbed the scar across the bridge of his nose. “I was told to be here at ten, so. . .” His words trailed off with a shrug.

“You’re Kurenai’s friend. Sorry, she never told me your last name, just said Iruka.”

“Guilty as charged,” Iruka said, putting out his hand to be shaken. “Umino Iruka.”

The other man stepped out from behind the counter and grasped the extended hand. “Hatake Kakashi, and it’s a pleasure to meet you.” He moved to the window and flipped the sign over to “Closed” before starting towards the rear of the shop. “We can talk more privately in the office; Sakura will man the counter when she gets here in a few minutes.”

As they made their way through the shop Kakashi mused about the other man’s measuring glance when their gazes first met and how he had been unable to keep from appraising him in return. When Kurenai had told him about this opportunity she had spoken strictly about things related to the shop, with no hints of what his proposed business partner looked like.

He was regretting not grilling her on that point now because he was stunned, and rapidly approaching gobsmacked, at how gorgeous, and sexy, and long-haired, and tanned, and. . .

Christ, he was beyond gobsmacked at everything that Iruka was.

The barking dog door chime sounded and Kakashi heard Sakura call out a greeting before he pushed the office door partly closed, leaving it open just a crack. He gestured Iruka to one of the squashy chairs that Sakura had chosen for him, folding himself into the other. He hesitated for a moment, unsure how to start the conversation.

“Ummm, I’m not sure how much Kurenai told you about me,” Iruka began, running a finger over the scar on his nose. “But I brought my portfolio so you could see some of my graphic design work.” He unzipped then carefully passed over the leather folder he had been holding.

Kakashi flipped through the pages seeing logos and ads for a few local businesses that he was familiar with. He knew that Iruka had been fired from his job at an advertising agency and with each new design he perused he found himself wondering why. The man’s work was outstanding: creative, evocative, and up-to-the-minute without crossing over into trendy.

“This is all excellent, and I could definitely use some help in that area,” he said with a smile. “But the quality of this work makes me very curious as to how they could have fired you.” Iruka’s face immediately darkened, and Kakashi held up a hand. “You don’t have to tell me; I’m more than willing to accept your partnership offer based on what I already know and have seen.”

“So why ask?”

Kakashi shrugged, “Curiosity, like I said. Kurenai would probably tell you it’s my greatest fault. And I’m not going to pass any kind of judgement on you.: He tugged the mask off of his face, hoping his sincerity would be visible.

Iruka sighed. “Judgement is my main worry; every place I've applied to in the last month was already told the story and they. . .” He pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed again, harder this time. “A co-worker of mine was stealing my work and passing it off as his own, and when I accused him he claimed I was lying to get back at him for rejecting my more. . . personal requests.”

“Was it the issue of inter-office romance they objected to, or a gay inter-office romance?”

“Honestly, by the time it was all over I didn’t give a shit anymore,” Iruka replied with a laugh. “I just wanted it done and behind me.” He looked up at the ceiling. “The worst part was knowing that for over a year Mizuki had faked friendship with me, just waiting for a chance to screw me over.”

“So you never made any ‘personal’ requests? Kakashi asked.

“Not once,” Iruka averred, nose wrinkling with distaste. “He wasn’t really my type.”

Kakashi nodded and closed the portfolio, handing it back to the other man. “I know enough now to make a decision.” He got to his feet and held out a hand to Iruka. “Welcome aboard, partner.”

Iruka was unable to keep the elation from showing on his face. “Really?!” He shook the extended hand enthusiastically, laughing when Kakashi grimaced at the fierceness of his grip. “This is great! I already have a few ideas for some promotional materials and a new logo and -” He bit off the sentence. “There is one thing I need to know, though. Why ‘32 Paws’?”

Kakashi laughed. “Come and see.”

As they climbed the stairs to the third floor of the building - which turned out to be an expansive open-plan apartment - Kakashi talked about the members of his staff. About Sakura, the veterinary student who helped with the grooming, Naruto, who tended to the janitorial work, and Sasuke who kept the books and tended to the administrative side of things. When they got to the top of the steps Kakashi turned to him with a grin before he flung open the door. Iruka barely had a second to breathe before they were surrounded by dogs, milling around them so rapidly that he couldn’t even tell how many there were. He squatted down and presented his hands for inspection, counting as each canine gave him a sniff of approval.

“Eight?” he asked, laughing as one of the smaller dogs, with tan fur and dark brown markings on his ears and around his eyes, licked his palms. “Eight dogs, four paws each -”

“Equals thirty-two,” Kakashi finished. “They basically have the run of the shop most days, so I hope that won’t be a deal breaker.”

Iruka chuckled, giving the tan dog one last ruffle of his floppy ears. “Not at all. I love dogs, although when it comes to pets I’m more of a cat person.” He pulled out his phone and showed Kakashi a picture of two cats, one an orange tabby and the other a long-haired calico.

Kakashi smiled. “Well, once they and the dogs all get used to each other they’ll be more than welcome to hang out here as well.”

“Then you definitely have a deal, partner.”

****~**~**~**~**~****

Two years later Iruka stood on the sidewalk, watching as a new sign was installed above the door. He had made some gradual changes to the logo over the years, but this latest alteration was the biggest one. The ‘a’ in 32 Paws was still a canine paw print but there was now more underneath. The top and bottom loops of the ampersand glittered with gold leaf, and Iruka glanced down at his left hand to see a similar band of gold there.

Arms wrapped around his waist from behind and a soft voice sounded in his ear. “Looks good,” Kakashi said, kissing his new husband on the cheek.

It _was_ good.

_**32 Paws** _  
_**&** _  
_**18 Lives** _


End file.
